Sci Fi filmmakers – this one’s for you!

Submissions are now open for the first annual Monsters and Martians Science Fiction Film Festival in Toronto.

The inaugural edition of the Monsters and Martians Science Fiction Film Festival will run from November 22 to 25, 2012 in Toronto, showcasing new and emerging SF filmmakers while paying homage to the true classics of the genre.

The submission deadline is September 30, 2012 with a final late submission deadline set for October 15, 2012

Short Films: 30 minutes or less Early Bird Fee: $15 Regular Fee: $20

Feature Length Films: Minimum 1 hour length Early Bird Fee: $25

Regular Fee: $30

Documentary: Any length – Regular Fee $25

Documentaries featuring matters relating to science fiction, science fiction writers or science fiction fans will be considered.

“The call for submissions was made to coincide with the 65th anniversary of Roswell this weekend, a seminal event which like the splitting of the atom, the first man in space and the development of the electronic computer captured the public imagination and influenced ideas in science fiction for generations to come, just as we hope to inspire and encourage the creativity of filmmakers from around the world,” says Jo Sandhu, Monsters & Martians Advisory Board Chair.

Steampunk, Slipstream, Time Travel, Space Opera, Futurism, Utopias and Dystopias  are the stories that Monster and Martians will seek out and explore in short and feature length form.

Horror films and entries which rely on a supernatural explanation will not be considered (e.g. ghosts, daemons, curses).

“There are many genre specific and hybrid film festivals in Toronto and Canada: Fantasia, Toronto After Dark, Midnight Madness at TIFF to name but a few, but there really wasn’t a film celebration dedicated solely to the exploration of what is possible – the ‘what could have been’ and ‘what could come to be’,” says Head Programmer Gareth McGorman in explaining the submission criteria.

The inaugural Monsters and Martians Science Fiction Film Festival will run from November 22 to 25, 2012 in Toronto, showcasing new and emerging SF filmmakers while paying homage to the true classics of the genre.

Further information about the festival can be found at www.monstersandmartians.com